Club of Derna
| Nick Name | Derna |
|---|---|
| Earliest Known Date | 1930 |
| Last Known Game | |
| Location | Derna, Libya |
| Modern Address | |
| NABBP Status | |
| Nine Class | Senior |
| Tags | |
| Description | Dr. Caleb Guyer Kelly (d. 1960), a Methodist missionary, former Baltimore City College ballplayer, and friend of Ned Hanlon, organized a baseball league in Tunis, Tunisia (then a French colony) in 1921. This eventually led to the "ligue Tunisienne de Baseball." Kelly boasted of forming 107 teams in Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Morocco (all French or Italian colonies at the time) in North Africa, and was known as "the father of North African Baseball." In Algeria teams were formed in Algiers, the capitol, A. S. St. Eugene being (apparently) the first. In 1937 he invited the Pittsburgh Pirates to train in Tunis. He also formed teams in the (then) Italian colony of Libya (Cyrenica, Tripolitania). The first game was played in Derna in 1930. Another team was established in Tripoli. See C. G. Kelly, "Baseball in the Garden of Allah," reprinted in "Muslim World", April 3, 2007, pp. 39-47; "Baseball is Thriving Sport on North African Shores," Dallas Morning News, March 12, 1933; Elias, "The Empire Strikes Out," p. 113; Vlasich, "A Legend for the Legendary. The Origin of the Baseball Hall of Fame," pp. 90-91; St. Petersburg Independent, Jan. 15, 1961; "Bucs Invited to Train in Africa," Springfield (MA) Republican, Dec. 25, 1937; San Diego Union, June 5, 1928. |
| Sources | See C. G. Kelly, "Baseball in the Garden of Allah," reprinted in "Muslim World", April 3, 2007, pp. 39-47; "Baseball is Thriving Sport on North African Shores," Dallas Morning News, March 12, 1933; Elias, "The Empire Strikes Out," p. 113; Vlasich, "A Legend for the Legendary. The Origin of the Baseball Hall of Fame," pp. 90-91; St. Petersburg Independent, Jan. 15, 1961; "Bucs Invited to Train in Africa," Springfield (MA) Republican, Dec. 25, 1937; San Diego Union, June 5, 1928. |
| Source Image | [[Image:|left|thumb]] |
| Has Source On Hand | No |
| Comment | Edit with form to add a comment |
| Query | Edit with form to add a query |
| Found by | Bruce Allardice |
| Submission Note | |
| Entered by | |
| First in Location | Libya |
| First in Location Note | |
| Entry Origin | |
| Entry Origin Url | |
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| Has Supplemental Text |
Ballgames
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Players
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Playing Fields
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